“This is not a crime problem, it’s not a civic problem, it is, and has always been, a health problem,” Sen. Gomes said. “I hope that through passage of this bill people suffering from addiction can get the help they need and our state can one day move forward and heal from the opioid crisis that’s plaguing our communities.”The bill furthers progress to combat opioid addiction in Connecticut by doing the following;

Reduces the maximum opioid drug prescription for minors from 7 days to 5 days and maintains current law, passed by Scanlon in 2016, that allows a prescribing practitioner to exceed the limit for chronic pain, palliative care or acute pain if necessary as long as it is documented in the medical record.

Requires individual and group health insurers to cover medically necessary detox treatment, as defined by American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) so that those looking for help cannot be turned away due to insurance issues.

Facilitates the destruction of unused medication by utilizing RN's employed for home health care agencies.

Allows an home health care RN to oversee the disposal of controlled substances, including going to a prescription drug drop box

Expands requirements about information regarding provider communications about of the risk and signs of addiction, and the dangers of drug interactions to cover all opioid prescriptions – current law passed in 2016 is just for minors.

Allows patients to file a voluntary non-opioid form in their medical records indicating that they do not want to be prescribed or administered opioid drugs.